Loukaitis claims to have planned the shootings carefully, getting ideas from the book "Rage," written by Stephen King. The defense at trial said the 1992 video for Pearl Jam's "Jeremy," in part, inspired 14-year-old Barry Loukaitis to act out like the troubled youth of the song.

Loukaitis's mother claimed at trial to have talked in depth with her son about her plans to commit suicide and detailed the history of depression in both her side, and his father's side of the families.